1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus having a common signal processing section that can process both data of an electronic scan ultrasound probe and a mechanical scan ultrasound probe connected thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditionally, an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus repeatedly transmits an ultrasound pulse from an ultrasound transducer of an ultrasound probe connected thereto to a living tissue, receives an echo signal of the ultrasound pulse reflected from the living tissue, creates information in the living body as a visible image of an ultrasonotomographic image and displays the image on a display section such as a monitor and the like.
To such an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, various types of ultrasound probes are connected according to observation sites and diagnosis applications. For example, to the above ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, both a detachable electronic scan ultrasound probe and a mechanical scan ultrasound probe might be connected.
The electronic scan ultrasound probe is an electronic-scan type ultrasound probe that scans inside a body cavity by electrically driving an ultrasound transducer mounted inside. The mechanical scan ultrasound probe is a mechanical-scan type ultrasound probe that scans inside the body cavity by mechanically rotating the ultrasound transducer mounted inside.
Such an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus transmits a pulse-state ultrasound wave from the ultrasound transducer of the ultrasound probe connected thereto, receives the pulse-state ultrasound wave reflected from a portion where an acoustic impedance of the living tissue changes and converts the ultrasound wave to an echo signal. Also, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus has a signal processing section that carries out signal processing required for creating an ultrasonotomographic image to the received echo signal.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 10-290799 as a first prior art discloses an art relating to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, which is an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that can handle both electronic scan and mechanical scan, having processing means and the like in which an analog received signal obtained in an electronic scan mode is converted by an A/D converter to digital data and then, the digital data and a coefficient are integrated.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-230378 as a second prior art discloses an art relating to a connection adapter for ultrasound observing device, which is an ultrasound observing device made capable of electronic ultrasound scan by connecting an electronic scan ultrasound probe to an ultrasound observing device to which a mechanical scan ultrasound probe is connected and carries out digital signal processing by a scan converter through digital conversion of a received signal from the electronic scan ultrasound probe using an A/D converter.